‘Andy Burnham will need to have dreamed of individuals thanking him – simply not criminals’

It’s been a rough week for Andy Burnham, from his emotional speech to releasing a load of prisoners onto the streets of the UK – with many of them thanking the PM for doing so

Andy Burnham must have dreamed of people thanking him for the job he was doing as Prime Minister. But he probably never imagined that it would be convicted criminals laudinghim for letting them out of jail early.

That was the embarrassing sight for the new PM yesterday as hundreds of inmates were released from prison ahead of time. As you would expect, many of the lucky lags were praising their Westminster benefactor.

It’s not a good look for Burnham. Leaders who appear soft on crime do not tend to fare well in the polls. So he will need to do a fair bit of work to convince folk that he’s a tough operator.

The whole scheme may be a symptom of the rot that has set in across our justice system. But Burnham and his ministers must make it a priority to turn things around.

The pictures of hardened criminals being given their freedom early is an insult to victims. They should all have confidence the punishments doled out are the punishments received.

Spiders on the climb

UH-oh! The unprecedented hot weather this year was always going to have extreme consequences. But one we didn’t necessarily have on our Bingo cards for 2026 was the gigantification of the spider population.

Apparently the boiling temperatures allowed our eight-legged frenemies to thrive. The heatwaves resulted in an influx of insects they could feast on.

And now it’s about to get cold again, they’re looking for somewhere cosy to spin their webs for the winter – namely, our homes.

Apparently they’re largely harmlessand terrified of us. We won’t blame you if you sleep with one eye open, though!